003: Watch/finish 20 foreign language films/shows - Part 2 (4 - 5)

Today I watched 2 more films for number 3 on my 101/1001 list: Watch/finish 20 foreign language films/shows. 5 down, 5 to go!

Name: Shadow (影)

Language: Mandarin
Year: 2018
Rating: 15
Genre: Period, Action, Royal Court Politics
Director: Yimou Zhang
Starring: Chao Deng, Li Sun, Ryan Zheng
Synopsis:  The story of a man in ancient China who, taken from his homeland as a child, becomes a pawn in the political games of the Pei royal family.

Thoughts: When beginning to watch Shadow, my first thought was 'this film is absolutely stunning visually!'. The whole film is very stylised, but not overdone. All of the costumes, sets and cinematography are absolutely beautiful and I particularly liked the use of black and white theme in the Pei palace. Not only is it a stark contrast to the other scenes in the film, showing that things inside and outside of the court aren't the same, but also the black and white signifies the balance of yin and yang, which is a big theme in the film. I also enjoy media in which parasols are featured as weapons, so I liked that too.

Visuals aside, Chao Deng plays the role of, Jing/the Commander, a man struggling for his freedom through obedience and patience well, while Ryan Zheng plays the King of Pei's ridiculous facade and cunning charmingly well. Li Sun also plays her role as the Commander's role well, though I preferred the storyline of the king's sister (played by Xiaotong Guan) much more.

Overall Shadow was an enjoyable watch with a well thought out plot, strong performances from the actors and gorgeous aesthetics. If you love Chinese period films, which I do, then this is one to check out.

Name: Freaks: You're One of Us (Freaks: Du bist eine von uns)
Language: German
Year: 2020
Rating: 15
Genre: Action, Superhero, Fantasy
Director: Felix Binder
Starring: Cornelia Gröschel, Tim Oliver Schultz, Wotan Wilke Möhring
Synopsis: Tipped by a mysterious tramp, a meek fry cook discovers she has superpowers and uncovers an unsavory, vast conspiracy.

Thoughts: This film could have and should have been a good film. When Wendy, the very likeable main character, first realises she has superpowers (super strength), it's fun to see her confidence growing at the same time, making her able to stand up to the 'bad people' in her life. 

But when the film tries to inject a more serious message into the plot  (ie: just because people are different to other people, doesn't make them dangerous), it just didn't work. The two groups of people who came to mind whilst watching were LGBTQ+ people and the mentally ill (there were subtle references to both groups). But, as I mentioned, it just didn't work, mainly because they showed that both Wendy and Elmar - Elmar in particular -  used their powers to hurt people and enjoyed it, on several occasions and therefore could legitimately be considered dangerous. 

While Dr Stern was obviously one of the antagonists, she genuinely thought she was doing the right thing and trying to help them, and was portrayed quite sympathetically. This also didn't really help the message that was behind the film either. 

Freaks was an okay film, but if you're looking for a superhero film that isn't really about superheros, then, in my opinion, the Spanish film Unknown Origins would be a better choice.